Justine Keay (Braddon, Australian Labor Party) Share this | Link to this | Hansard source

In 2017, someone has a stroke in Australia every nine minutes, and it's predicted the number of strokes will more than double by 2050. Stroke is a time-critical emergency caused when blood supply to the brain is interrupted owing to a blocked or bleeding artery. Stroke and its effects place a significant physical, emotional and financial burden on patients, their families, carers and loved ones. Community awareness and the promotion of the prevention of stroke are paramount to improving outcomes after stroke.

This week is National Stroke Week, the annual awareness campaign run by the Stroke Foundation to highlight the dramatic impact that stroke can have on the wider community. This week of is particular significance for my electorate of Braddon, as regional Australians are 19 per cent more likely to suffer a stroke than those in metropolitan areas. Due to my electorate having a higher representation of older Australians and those with chronic conditions, it is over-represented in stroke statistics. In 2017, Tasmania has the second-highest number of stroke instances per capita and the highest number of stroke survivors per capita, but we see a lack of funding for preventive health. My state Labor colleague Rebecca White and her team will take a strategic approach to preventive health in Tasmania by establishing the Healthy Communities Commission, which will have the authority to tackle Tasmania's high rates of preventable diseases.

The Stroke Foundation says: 'Think FAST—face, arm, speech, time—and act fast by dialling triple 0.'